Method and means for maintaining register in multiunit presses



Jan. 3, 1939. A. DULTGEN ET AL METHOD AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING REGISTER IN MULTIUNIT PRESSES Filed March 11, 1937 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTORS BY W A TTORNEY Jan. 3, 1939, A. DULTGEN ET AL METHOD AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING REGISTER IN MULTIUNIT PRESSES Filed March 11, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS A ain SM MSW TTORNE Y Patented Jan'- 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING REGISTER m MULTIUNIT PBESSES Arthur. Dultgen, Queens Village, and Anton Stobb, Astoria, N. Y., and Max Stoessel, Ridge wood, N. J. said Stobb assignor to said Dultgeu and said Stoessel Application March 11, 1931, Serial No. 136,2

This invention relates to method and means for maintaining. register in multi-unit presses. -In the operation of multi-color web printing presses, serious diiiiculty has been experienced 5 in maintaining the register of the prints applied by the diflerent printing cylinders, and manual adjustment of the position of the web in the different printing units has been necessary dur- We have determined the cause of the failure of multi-color web 'p'resses to maintain register of the prints during long-continued operation, and have provided by our invention automatic means for maintaining register. We have thus obviated the loss and poor quality work heretofore resulting from the failure of such presses to naintoin register of prints and the inconvemence and difliculties involved in manual readjustments to restore it. Y

2 5 We. hav'efound that the failure of multi-color one feature of our invention whichwe regard web presses to maintain register is due to slight variations in the diameters of the printing cylinders and the fact that the rate of travel of the web over each printing cylinder is determined by the peripheral speed of that printing cylinder. Although such variations in diameter and "in rate of travel are frequently so small-as to be unobservable, their efiect is cumulative.

Thus, if, ina printing press designed to move the web at-800 feet a minute and having printing cylinders 10 inches in diameter, the first printing cylinder is oversize byone ten-'-thousandth of an inch in diameter (that is, .001 per cent. oversize), the rate of travel of the web over this 40 cylinder will be 800.008 feet per minute (that is,

.001 per cent. in excess of the intended rate),

which is not susceptibly different from a speed of 800 feet per minute. But, if the second cylinder is exactly 10 inches in diameter, the difference in the speed of the web overthe first and second cylinders will result, after ten minutes operation, in increasing the length of the reach .of the web between the first two printing cylinders by .08 foot or about nine-tenths of an inch,

which will cause a serious error in register, which will continue to increase and become more serious during the continued operation of the press.

In intaglio presses, the variation in diameter between-cylinders is sometimes as much as one 56 one-thousandth of an inch,'so that the cumula- 10 (01. 101-471 v or tive effect of the difference in the peripheral 1 speeds of the printingcylinders causes serious errors of register in a comparativelyshort time. This difliculty cannot be overcome merely by driving printing cylinders varying in diameter -at the same peripheral speed, for, while thismight result in makingthe rates of travel of'the web over each cylinder equal, the non-uniform rotational speed ofthe printing cylinders would cause a relative circumferential displacement of- 10 their printing surfaces, which would make the prints out of register on the web notwithstanding uniformity in the rate of travel, of the web over each cylinder. By our invention, wehave overcome difficulties l5 heretofore 'encountered'ln maintaining register.

A practical apparatus embodying our invena tion includes web-moving members independent ofthe printing cylinders (that is, not continuous- 1y directly connected therewith) for moving the 20' Web across the printing cylinders of each unit. of a multi-unit press and regulating means for maintaining the average peripheral speeds of the web-moving members of the diiferent units equal to a high degree of accuracy. ,According to 25 as important, the regulating means take the form of a governing mechanism actuated by variations in the tensions of the reaches of the web between-units to vary the relative peripheral 30 speeds of the web-'moving members so as to restore the tension on each reach of the web to its original value.

In applying our invention to .intaglio multicolor presses, where the need for it is greatest, we utilize the impression roller of each unit as the web-moving member and provide governing means actuated by thetension of the reaches of Fig. .2 is a fragmentary side elevation and Fig. 3 a fragmentary end elevation showing the control rollsand arms:

Fig. 4 is a side elevation and Fig. 5 an end 50 elevation of the drive-mechanism of an impres! sion roller; and

' Fig. 6 is asectional, detail of the brake discs incorporated in this mechanism.

a The printing press shown in Fig. 1 has a main 5 frame I on which are mounted printing cylinders 2, impression rollers 3,an unwinding or supply I roll 4,- a rewinding roll 5, feed rolls 6 for the impression roller of each of the printing units corresponding printing cylinder 2.

of the press and then to the rewinding roll 5. The printing cylinders of all the units are driven at' the same rotational speed by the usual me-.

chanical gearing from a common drive shaft D.

The reaches of the web between the printing units and also the reach of the web between the unwinding roll 4 in the first printing unit and that between the last printing unit and rewinding roll 5 pass over control rolls 9, In, H, l2. The rolls 9 and I2 of each 1mit are fixed on the frame of the machine while each pair of rolls Ill and Ii aremounted on opposite ends of a lever l3 fulcrumed on the frame at i4. Each lever l3 has an extension or arm i6 provided with projections I], I8, positioned so that the projection ll closes a contact switch I9 when the lever I3 is tipped in one direction and the projection i8 closes a contact switch 20 when the lever I3 is tipped in the other direction. Set

screws 2|, 22 limit the motion-of the extension ii to that which is necessary to permit it to operate one or the other of the contact switches. Solenoids 23 and 24 (Fig. 4). mounted onthe casing of the impression roller drive mechanism are connected in" an electric circuit containing 'the contact switches I9 and 20 so that the closing of the switch I! energizes the solenoid 23.

and the closing of the switch 20 energizes the solenoid 24.

The driving mechanism for the impression rollers 3, which are the web-moving members of the units, connects each impression roller 3 with the shaft of the printing cylinder 2 of its unit in such manner that the peripheral speed of the impression roller is slightly greater than the peripheral speed of the printing cylinder when the solenoid 23 is'energized, nd is slightly less than the peripheral speed of t e printing cylinder when the solenoid 24 is energized. When neither solenoid is energized, the speed of the impression roller 31s determined by that of the During this neutral period, it is immaterial whether the impression roller 3 be driven by surface friction from the printing cylinder so that its peripheral speed is the same as that of the printing cylinder, or whether the impression roller be driven from the shaft of the printing cylinder so that its rotational speed is proportional to that of the printing cylinder. In the particular drive mechanism shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the shaft of the impression roller, 3 is geared to the shaft of the printing cylinder 2 when neither solenoid is energized. A gear 51 is fixed on the shaft of the printing cylinder 2 and meshes witha gear' 55 floating on the shaft of the impression roller- 3. An arm 44 fixed to the shaft of theimpression roller 3 carries a bevel gear 4| inwhich is a roller-bearing 43. A brake disc 35 is held by means of a stand 38 attached to a bevel gear 31 which rests in a ball-bearing',38ln a shaft 39 and in the roller-bearing 40 of the bevel gear 4i. The bevel gears 31 and 4| mesh with the bevel gear 45 which is fastened to a worm 46 by means of a shaft 41 rotatively mounted on the arm 44. The worm 46 meshes with a wormwheel 50 connected ith a stud gear 5| journalled on the arm 44. The gear 5| meshes throughan intermediate gear l3 on ball-bearings I2 and stud 34 held on the arm 44 with the gear I.

Brake shoes 33, 34 positioned to contact with the brake discs 35 and 42, respectively are mounted on eccentric studs 23, 30 held in brackets 3| mounted on a gear casing 32 fixed to the frame of the press. The studs 29', 30 on which the brake shoes are mounted are connected to the solenoids 23 and 24 by links 25 and 26 and levers 21 and 23.

The operation of the device is described as follows:

The web is initially led through the machine as shown in Fig. 1 in such manner that the tension of the different reaches of the web is equal, so that each of the levers i3 and arms i5 is in its central or neutral position and all the switches I9 and are open. Each impression v roller 3 is then driven at the same rotational speed as the printing-cylinder, so that the rates of speed of the web through the different units are proportional to the peripheral speeds of the impression rollers which exercise a greater friction on the web than the printing cylinders. Since it is no more possible to make the impression rollers of absolutely uniform diameter than it is to make the printing cylinders of absolutely uniform diameter, the peripheral speeds of the impression rollers will vary slightly when all the impression rollers are thus driven 'at the same rotational speed. For the sake of illustration, it will be assumed that the impression roller of the middle unit is slightly larger in diameter than the other impression rollers, so

. that, when the levers are all in neutral position,

result in increasing the tension on the reach of the webbetween the first and second units and decreasing the'tension on the reach of the web between the second and third units. As soon as this difference in tension has become appreciable and before any appreciable lack of register has resulted, the control roll ID of the middle unit will be pulled down and the control roll I I allowed to move up swinging the arm ii of this unit so as to close the switch i9. This will energize the solenoid 23 and this solenoid will move the brake shoe 33 into contact with the brake disc 35. This holds the bevel gear 31 against rotation causing the gear 45 to rotate, rotatingv the worm 46, the worm-wheel and the gears El and 53 so as to make the arm 44 turn in relation to, the gear 53, making the impression roller 3 run slower. -The decrease in speed of the impression roller results in a decrease in. the rate of travel of the web through the middle unit which continues. until the tensions on the reaches of the web on opposite sides of the middle unit again become equal restoring from that in the illustration just' described, so

that it energizes the solenoid 24 throughthe switch 23 and increases the speed of rotation of the impression roller.

Where, as is usually the case, there are slight the lever l3 and arm IE to the neutral posl- 5. In a multi-unit, rotary, web printing press,-

diiierences in' diameter between all the impression rollers, automatic adiustments'such as have been described will occur in all the units whenever there are appreciable variations in the ten- Y matter how long the press may operate.

The same result will be achieved in case the impression rollers are frictionally driven from the printing cylinders when neither solenoid is energized, as in this case diflferences in the speed of the web through the diflferent units caused by differences in the diameters of the printing cylinders will be compensated for by the automatic adjustment. It will be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to the particular mechanism which has been described in the way of illustration, nor is it limited to use of impression rollers asa means for controllingthe speedof the web. While the greatest utility of the invention, so far as we are now aware, is in its applicability to existing intaglio multi-unit presses, itmay advantageously be applied also to v multi-unit presses of other types.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multiunit, rotary, web printing press, a device-tor keeping the printing of two units in register, comprising a web-moving means associated with each unit and in continuous driving contact with the web, and means actuated byin register, comprising a web-moving means associated with each unit and in continuous driving contact with the web, .and means actuated by a change in the tension of the 'reach of the web between the two units caused'by a difference in the peripheral speeds of the web-moving means or the two units to reverse the difference in the peripheral speeds or the web-moving means 01 the two units until the tension is restored to its original value.

3. A method of maintaining register in a multiunit, rotary, web printing press in which a webmoving means in continuous driving contact with the web is associated with each unit, which comprises utilizing the tension of the reches or .the web between the units to control the relative peripheral speeds of the web-moving means of the units so as to make the average peripheral speeds of the web-moving means of all the units equal.

4. A'm'ethod of maintaining fl fiter in'a multiunit, rotary, web printing press in which a webmovingmeans in continuous driving contact with the web is associated with each unit, which comprises utilizing inequalities in the tensions of the reaches of the web at the intake and discharge sides of a unit to vary the peripheral speed of the web-moving means of the unit to restore said tensions to equality.

a device for maintaining register, comprising a web-moving means associated with each unit and in continuous driving contact with the web, and means automatically actuated by a diiierence in tension of the web at opposite sides of a unit to change the peripheral speed of the web-moving means of theunit until equality of tension is restored.

6. A device for maintaining register in a multiunit, rotary, web printing press in which the printing cylinders of all the units are driven at the, same angular velocity, comprising a webmoving member associated with each unit and in continuous drivingcontact with the web, means for rotating said web-moving members at approximately equal peripheral speeds, and governing means actuated by a difierence in the tension of the reachesv of the web at opposite sides of any unit to change the peripheral speed of the web-moving member of that unit without varying the speed of the printing cylinder of the unit. to restore equality of tension of said reaches.

7. A device for maintaining register in a multi- ,unit, rotary intaglio, web printing press in which the printing cylinders of all the units are driven at the same angular velocity, comprising governing means actuated by changes .in the tension of the web between any two of the printing units to vary the speed of the impression roller of said unit without varying the speed of the printing cylinder of the unit to restore said tension to its original value.

8. A device for maintaining register in a multiunit, rotary intaglio, web printing press in which the printing cylinders of all the units are driven at the same angular velocity, comprising governing means actuated by an increase of the tension of the reach of the web leading into any unit to decrease the speed of rotation of the impression roller of that unit without varying the speed of the printing cylinder of the unit until the tension of said reach is restored to its original value and actuated by a decrease in the tension of said reach to increase the rate of rotation of said impression roller without varying the speed of the printing cylinder until the tension of said reach is restored to its original value.

9. A device for maintaining register in a multiunit, rotary, web printing press whose printing cylinders are driven at the same angular speed but have slightly different peripheral speeds, which comprises web-moving means in continuous, uniform, non-slipping, driving engagement with the web, and means for moving said web- 'moving means across the printing cylinder of.

each unit at the same average speed.

10. A device for maintaining register in a multi- -unit, rotary, web printing press whose printing 

